A friend posted a link to an article and asked my opinion. Before reading my response read the initial article.
1.
Few People Are Impressed By Us
Impressed? No, but my
Arab students like seeing my pictures from back home and ask me a lot of
questions about the US. I doubt my
Pakistani or Indian colleagues get the same questions.
2.
Few People Hate Us
“Despite the occasional eye-rolling, and complete inability to
understand why anyone would vote for George W. Bush, people from other
countries don’t hate us either.”
The eye-opener for me was the death of Osama bin Laden. I was surprised at the number of people who
view him as a hero. One of my students
even linked me to a picture of him as a martyr.
I wrote that he should get psychiatric treatment and unfriended
him. There is a level of anger among the
Palestinians that is pretty much the definition of hatred.
Americans tend to assume that the
rest of the world either loves us or hates us (this is actually a good litmus
test to tell if someone is conservative or liberal). The fact is, most people
feel neither. Most people don’t think much about us.
I honestly don’t know what he
means. Liberals think the world hates
America and conservatives think the world loves America? I do know liberals like myself who think the
world pretty much likes America. And I
have a conservative friend here who has the same opinion… so I really don’t get
it.
3.
We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World
Is it shocking how many people
can’t pick out Iraq on a map? Yes. But I don’t care for the America bashing on
this topic. I have not found the average
student here anymore “wordly” than the average student I’ve had in the US.
4.
We Are Poor At Expressing Gratitude And Affection
He compares Americans with the
Latin culture so, yes, we not as outwardly affection. Compared to the Brits, Germans, Kiwis,
Canadians and Aussies the average American is at least gregarious and outgoing
as any of them.
5.
The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great
“If you’re extremely talented or
intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live. The system
is stacked heavily to allow people of talent and advantage to rise to the top
quickly.
“The problem with the US is that everyone thinks
they are of talent and advantage. As John Steinbeck famously said, the problem
with poor Americans is that ‘they don’t believe they’re poor, but rather
temporarily embarrassed millionaires.’”
I see nothing wrong with believing you can move up the
socio-economic ladder. Yes, many
Americans are delusional and wage mobility is lower now than it has been in a
hundred years but is the alternative better?
Tell people they are screwed.
That will be a great motivator.
6.
The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us
Do Americans really think the
rest of the world is a shithole? I guess
I just don’t know those Americans.
7.
We’re Paranoid
In the US, security trumps
everything, even liberty. We’re paranoid.
I’ve probably been to 10
countries now that friends and family back home told me explicitly not to go
because someone was going to kill me, kidnap me, stab me, rob me, rape me, sell
me into sex trade, give me HIV, or whatever else. None of that has happened.
I’ve never been robbed and I’ve walked through some of the shittiest parts of
Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Finally! A point I can agree on 100%. I consider my hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
to be a pretty safe place… but hey 20 years ago I did get mugged there. There
are some seedy elements in my tranquil home in Al Ain but I’ve never felt
unsafe here.
8.
We’re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention
We’re status-obsessed. Our
culture is built around achievement, production and being exceptional.
I laughed out loud on this
one. Why?
1. I live in a place that is far more
status-obsessed than the US. (World’s
tallest building, fastest roller coaster, indoor snow skiing, world’s largest
mall, etc.) Last month I made some
students feel guilty for ruining a class.
The result? A guy brought me a
$650 pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses as an apology.
2. I don’t see status
seeking as a negative. It’s a
motivator. Fifty years there was no road
connecting Al Ain to Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
The main way to get there was by camel and the trip would take several
days. The founder of this country has
funneled the wealth from oil sales into building a country with incredible
infrastructure today.
Sheikh Zayed also instilled a feeling of pride (perhaps too
much, but I’m forgiving on this because again, just a few decades ago the
people of this country were dirt poor).
9.
We Are Very Unhealthy
Unless you have cancer or something equally dire, the health
care system in the US sucks. The World Health Organization ranked the US 37th in the world for health care, despite
the fact that we spend the most per capita by a large margin.
Agree 100%. The picture
of Americans on TV is that most are good-looking and in shape. When foreigners visit the US they discover
the truth and it surprises them… I have heard this many, many times.
10.
We Mistake Comfort For Happiness
Like much of this article I shrug
when I read this. Yes, Americans like
our toys more than our leisure. We work
300 hours more per year than the average French family because we value the SUV
in the driveway and the French enjoy August at the beach.
That’s just not a big deal to me.
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